Medical instruments of this type are known. In particular, European patent application EP 2 837 354 A1, which is incorporated by reference into the present application, discloses a medical manipulator having a shaft, a working portion, which is arranged at the tip thereof, with a gripper, and a handle with which the gripper can be operated. The working portion has a bending portion between the gripper and the shaft, said bending portion bringing about an angling of the gripper from an axial direction of the shaft on account of a bending operating force transmitted from the handle. Extending within an outer tube of the shaft are a first and a second half tube which are each designed as a hollow tube divided along its longitudinal axis and which, facing each other with their open sides, are arranged parallel to each other and which are displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the shaft. The first and the second half tube are connected to sliding elements guided on mutually opposite sides of the bending portion. By means of mutual displacement of the half tubes in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, bending of the bending portion can be brought about via a corresponding displacement of the sliding elements. Extending within the two half tubes is an inner tube, the rotation of which about the longitudinal axis of the shaft can cause the gripper to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the gripper, and the displacement of which in the longitudinal direction of the shaft can cause the gripper to open or close. The inner tube extends into the bending portion and follows a bending of the bending portion. Electric lines extend within the inner tube and by means of which the gripping elements of the gripper are connected to a high frequency voltage source. The handle comprises a hand grip with which a user can hold the medical manipulator, and also control elements for controlling the mentioned functions of the working portion.
In the case of medical instruments, in particular in the case of reusable medical instruments, at least those parts of the instrument that may come into contact with body fluids have to be able to be cleaned and/or sterilized. In the case of endoscopic medical instruments, this applies at least to those parts of the instrument which are intended for introduction into a cavity inside a human or animal body. Cleaning with a cleaning fluid or sterilization with a liquid or gaseous sterilization fluid, for example, are possible for this purpose.